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When the Riverwood Trader is entered, Lucan and Camilla Valerius are heard arguing about whether or not a valuable item that has recently been stolen from their shop should be retrieved. Upon inquiry, it is learned that a Golden Claw has been stolen from the shop by bandits. More curious yet, is the fact that the claw was the only item stolen, despite the numerous other valuable items in the shop being worth just as much . The bandits are thought to be holed up in Bleak Falls Barrow.

Bleak Falls Barrow can be found by following the path Camilla lays out up the mountain west of Riverwood. Several bandits are found guarding the entrance as well as two bandits inside who are heard talking about someone called Arvel, who seems to have gone ahead of the rest of the group.

After dealing with the bandits and continuing through Bleak Falls Temple, another bandit is seen who pulls a lever and is cut down by a volley of poisoned darts. This introduces a turn-stone puzzle whose solution can be deduced by studying the order of carvings on the stone faces, going from left to right (Snake, Snake, Whale). Once the trap has been deactivated, the Pickpocketskill bookThief can be taken from a table just past the portcullis.

The voice of Arvel the Swift can be heard crying out for his comrades help (these include Bjorn and Soling), despite running ahead with the claw. Upon investigating the cries, a large Wounded Frostbite Spider descends from the ceiling to guard its trapped prey. Once the spider has been killed, Arvel asks to be set free. He states that he knows about the markings on the claw and the stone door and that he'll share in the power that the ancients have hidden away once he is free.

Despite all of his promises, Arvel is nothing but a bandit and tries to run once he has been cut free. Since he has the claw, he must be cut down (or let the trap and Draugr up ahead do it). His corpse has the Golden Claw as well as Arvel's Journal on it. To avoid the impending chase, Arvel can be killed as soon as he is free, as he will stand still for a moment or two after dropping to the floor. Another way that he can die is if he survives the Draugr, he can run into a spike trap, killing him instantly.

Past where Arvel was ensnared is the start of the crypts and the first encounters with the many ancient Draugr that inhabit the barrow, as well as a number of deadly traps. There is a closed gate with water running through it that can be opened by activating the chain next to it. Eventually, the doorway down to Bleak Falls Sanctum can be found. It is guarded by a Restless Draugr at lower levels. Behind the door is a swinging axe trap, with two Draugr behind it. Eventually, there is an iron door that leads to the Hall of Stories, a long, low arched vault with stone murals on the sides. Here, the ancient Nords processed their dead for their voyage to Sovngarde.

At the end of the hall is the keystone that the Golden Claw unlocks. The combination can be seen on the palm of the claw (which can be seen when viewing the claw in the items view). Activate the outer, middle, and inner rings to rotate the radial turn stones on the door. Once they match the claw, activate the keyhole, which will insert the claw as the key. Once through, the passage will open up into a great chamber with a Word Wall for the Dragon Shout - Unrelenting Force. While learning the shout, a Draugr Overlord will emerge from the nearby crypt. Once defeated, the Dragonstone, a quest item, can be taken from his body.

With the secret of Bleak Falls Barrow uncovered, Lucan will be awaiting his prized possession. Following the stairs to the left of the Word Wall will lead to a handle that will reveal a secret passage to a one-way exit from the sanctum (the final room after the one-way drop has a chest and some purple mountain flowers, red mountain flowers, and blue mountain flowers). Return to the Riverwood Trader where Lucan will be pleased to have his prized trinket back, and in return, happily pays the promised gold. Camilla becomes a marriage prospect as well.

In the cavern with the Word Wall there is a chest hidden up the stream behind it. It is accessible by following the stream to the right (facing the Wall), up and behind. There will be leveled loot inside, normally containing a few potions and assorted assundries.

It is not necessary to talk to either of the Valerius siblings to begin the quest. If the first couple of quests in the main questline are completed, the Golden Claw will be found automatically. Once the claw has been picked up, this quest will initiate with the objective to "Find the owner of the Golden Claw."

Camilla owns the claw, and as such, ownership of it will pass to the Dragonborn upon marriage.

After completing the quest, Lucan and Camilla will thank the Dragonborn whenever their shop is entered.

Lucan will send Hired Thugs after the Dragonborn if he steals the Golden Claw after retrieving it.

There is a back entrance to the Bleak Falls Sanctum. It is a small, concealed cave on the lake-side of the mountain. The entrance is a small climb and is above an area of mammoth skeletons. This entrance, however, only leads to the small shrine-cave at back of the Sanctum, and a ledge makes entry to the Sanctum proper impossible.

If Camilla is dead, Lucan will let the Dragonborn keep the golden claw.

Always add 360 , PS3 , or PC to clarify which system the bug appears on.

It is possible that this only occurs if the player choose to side with Ralof during the open quest, Unbound.

PC If the Riverwood Trader is entered at a time when it should be closed but is not (e.g., 5:30 am), Lucan and Camilla can be heard arguing, but when they are spoken to afterwards they will ask the Dragonborn to leave instead of making the quest quest available. Then if they are spoken to, they will only have general conversations, making it impossible to get the quest.

PC In Bleak Falls Barrow, Arvel may be found already dead on the ground with the Claw nowhere to be found. If the Claw is obtained via console, the Bleak Falls Barrow quest may be cleared, but the quest objective "find the owner of the golden claw" still can't be finished. (Has been confirmed three times by different people.) Either make a new game, leave the quest hanging, or complete it by using console commands.

PC If Arvel the Swift is attacked before activating the conversation with him, he will be stuck in the pose like he is still in the spiderwebs. But he will be floating in mid-air. He can not be killed in this state, nor pickpocketed. The only way to fix this is loading a save from before he was attacked, restarting the game over or by the console.

This bug does not occur on PS3, as any hit attempt on Arvel will register as a hit on the web, this means that Arvel cannot be attacked until the web is broken.

PC 360 When killing the Draugr that carries the Dragonstone, it may glitch through the floor, making the Dragonstone irretrievable. Reload a previous save and kill it again.

PC In some cases, if the Golden Claw is obtained before talking to Lucan or Camilla, they won't talk to each other or the Dragonborn, which makes completing the Quest impossible. (Confirmed)

360 Camilla may stop suddenly as if she was stuck in a glitch. To fix this, sprint and shove her and she should walk normally, if not, reload an old save.

PC If the quest "Bleak Falls Barrow" has been completed already, the quest marker will indicate you to go to the word wall, which you will have already learned. To fix, go back to Riverwood and give the claw to either Lucan or Camilla.